Rename Due to Mismatched Terminology: Values Resonance

I presume this trope was set up as the converse of Values Dissonance. "Dissonance" is a musical term for when two or more notes do not harmonize in a pleasing way. However, "resonance" is a scientific term referring to when two or more objects have the same fundamental frequency and the vibrations of one causes the others to vibrate likewise. While one can see a figurative connection between "dissonance" and "resonance", it's rather confusing when one of the trope names refers to music theory and its opposite refers to scientific principles; it's a mixed metaphor. Hence, I propose changing the name of Values Resonance to "Values Consonance", as in music theory "consonance" is the opposite of "dissonance" (that is, consonance is when two or more notes harmonize together in a pleasing way). The alternative would be to change "Values Dissonance" to "Values Nonresonance", but as I understand it "dissonance" is used for a wide variety of trope names on this wiki, and "Values Nonresonance" is not exactly the most elegant of formations.

edited 5th Jan '12 8:29:06 PM by Folamh3

Musician, writer, game designer.

Resonance and dissonance both have common meanings separate from their scientific origins. We named these tropes after those common meanings. Few people have heard of consonance, so renaming would hurt the name's clarity.

Dissonance also means "A tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements" (consider the phrase "cognitive dissonance") and resonance also means "The ability to evoke or suggest images, memories, and emotions" and has the synonym "echo".

There are many terms of art and other jargon that have different, common meanings.

Becky: Who are you? The Mysterious Stranger: An angel. Huck: What's your name? The Mysterious Stranger: Satan.

Jargon vs common usage.

Fight smart, not fair.

If I got upset every time I heard the word diffusion used to mean anything other than "the passive movement of particles along a concentration gradient", I would never stop twitching.

Becky: Who are you? The Mysterious Stranger: An angel. Huck: What's your name? The Mysterious Stranger: Satan.

We use common English on this site. Not niche specific English. I am clocking this thread. If you do not have a reason for a rename other than being amazingly pedantic, I am locking this thread at the end of three days.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

The question is whether or not these count as legitimate definitions. "Common use" isn't good enough on its own; if at some point in time common use said that computer meant blackboard and clock meant soap dispenser, that wouldn't make it accurate.

edited 6th Jan '12 6:17:21 AM by HiddenFacedMatt

"The Daily Show has to be right 100% of the time; FOX News only has to be right once." - Jon Stewart

The words "clock" and "blackboard" are completely arbitrary*

. There's nothing "accurate" about them. They seem obviously descriptive to you exactly because they're in common use.

edited 6th Jan '12 7:21:54 AM by TripleElation

Pretentious quote || In-joke from fandom you've never heard of || Shameless self-promotion || Something weird you'll habituate to

According to That Other Wiki, "Consonance is a stylistic device characterized by the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession, as in 'pitter patter' or in 'all mammals named Sam are clammy'."

So no, let's not use that to name this trope.

Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!

Actually, Matt. If at some point someone called a soap dispenser a clock and it caught on to the point that everyone called soap dispensers clocks, it would be accurate. That's how English works. We sort of agree on what words mean by consensus.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

It's not unreasonable that a modern viewer might watch Al Jolson wearing blackface in The Jazz Singer and think "Wow, that seems very dissonant with our values nowadays." Likewise, many folks find themselves smiling and nodding at how well Charlie Chaplin's climactic speech in The Great Dictator still resonates with modern ideals. Maybe I'm the weird one, but these both sound like perfectly natural phrases to me.

Yes, those are common English phrases. As there are no more arguments for rename then someone not liking it I'm locking this.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick